1Belshazzar the king has made a great feast to one thousand of his great men, and before the one thousand he is drinking wine; 2Belshazzar has said—while tasting the wine—to bring in the vessels of gold and of silver that his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple that [is] in Jerusalem, that the king may drink with them, and his great men, his wives, and his concubines. 3Then they have brought in the vessels of gold that had been taken out of the temple of the house of God that [is] in Jerusalem, and the king and his great men, his wives and his concubines, have drunk with them; 4they have drunk wine, and have praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of bronze, of iron, of wood, and of stone.

5In that hour fingers of a man’s hand have come forth, and they are writing in front of the lampstand, on the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace: and the king is seeing the extremity of the hand that is writing; 6then the king’s countenance has changed, and his thoughts trouble him, and the joints of his loins are loosed, and his knees are striking against one another. 7The king calls mightily, to bring up the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. The king has answered and said to the wise men of Babylon, that, “Any man who reads this writing, and shows me its interpretation, he puts on purple, and a bracelet of gold [is] on his neck, and he rules third in the kingdom.” 8Then all the wise men of the king are coming up, and they are not able to read the writing, and to make known the interpretation to the king; 9then King Belshazzar is greatly troubled, and his countenance is changing in him, and his great men are perplexed.

10The queen, on account of the words of the king and his great men, has come up to the banquet-house. The queen has answered and said, “O king, live for all ages; do not let your thoughts trouble you, nor your countenance be changed: 11there is a man in your kingdom in whom [is] the spirit of the holy gods: and in the days of your father, light, and understanding, and wisdom—as the wisdom of the gods—was found in him; and your father King Nebuchadnezzar, chief of the scribes, enchanters, Chaldeans, soothsayers, established him—your father, O king— 12because that an excellent spirit, and knowledge, and understanding, interpreting of dreams, and showing of enigmas, and loosing of knots was found in him, in Daniel, whose name the king made Belteshazzar: now let Daniel be called, and the interpretation he shows.”

13Then Daniel has been caused to come up before the king; the king has answered and said to Daniel, “You are that Daniel who [is] of the sons of the expulsion of Judah, whom my father the king brought in out of Judah? 14And I have heard of you, that the spirit of the gods [is] in you, and light, and understanding, and excellent wisdom have been found in you. 15And now, caused to come up before me have been the wise men, the enchanters, that they may read this writing, and its interpretation to cause me to know: and they are not able to show the interpretation of the thing: 16and I have heard of you, that you are able to give interpretations, and to loose knots: now, behold—you are able to read the writing, and its interpretation to cause me to know—purple you put on, and a bracelet of gold [is] on your neck, and you rule third in the kingdom.”

17Then Daniel has answered and said before the king, “Your gifts be to yourself, and give your fee to another; nevertheless, the writing I read to the king, and the interpretation I cause him to know; 18you, O king, God Most High, a kingdom, and greatness, and glory, and honor, gave to your father Nebuchadnezzar: 19and because of the greatness that He gave to him, all peoples, nations, and languages were trembling and fearing before him: whom he willed he was slaying, and whom he willed he was keeping alive, and whom he willed he was raising up, and whom he willed he was making low; 20and when his heart was high, and his spirit was strong to act proudly, he has been caused to come down from the throne of his kingdom, and his glory they have caused to pass away from him, 21and he is driven from the sons of men, and his heart has been like with the beasts, and with the wild donkeys [is] his dwelling; they cause him to eat the herb like oxen, and by the dew of the heavens is his body wet, until he has known that God Most High is ruler in the kingdom of men, and whom He wills He raises up over it. 22And you, his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, though all this you have known; 23and against the Lord of the heavens you have lifted up yourself; and the vessels of His house they have brought in before you, and you, and your great men, your wives, and your concubines, are drinking wine with them, and gods of silver, and of gold, of bronze, of iron, of wood, and of stone, that are not seeing, nor hearing, nor knowing, you have praised: and the God in whose hand [is] your breath, and all your ways, Him you have not honored. 24Then from before Him is the extremity of the hand sent, and the writing is noted down;

25and this [is] the writing that is noted down: Numbered, Numbered, Weighed, and Divided. 26This [is] the interpretation of the thing: Numbered—God has numbered your kingdom, and has finished it. 27Weighed—You are weighed in the balances, and have been found lacking. 28Divided—Your kingdom is divided, and it has been given to the Medes and Persians.”

29Then Belshazzar has spoken, and they have clothed Daniel with purple, and a bracelet of gold [is] on his neck, and they have proclaimed concerning him that he is the third ruler in the kingdom.

30In that night Belshazzar king of the Chaldeans is slain, 31and Darius the Mede has received the kingdom when a son of sixty-two years.